Candidate:

Mr. Risk-Taker

About Me:

During my time at IIT, I got pre-placement offer and accepted it. After working in the software industry for 18 months, I left to take up a role in the finance industry, taking a ~40% cut and leaving behind a stable career path that would have led to senior positions.

Schools:

Target School: Wharton

Considering: Chicago Booth, Kellogg SOM, Columbia, NYU Stern, MIT Sloan, Cornell Johnson

See More Profiles For: Wharton

Application Status: Open

Details:

Undergrad School: IIT Jodhpur

Undergrad Major: Biology

GPA: 7.2/10

GMAT: 740

Age: 24, Ethnicity: Asian or Indian

Other Degree/Certification: CFA level 1 (scored 90+ percentile)

Extracurriculars: Open-source repository on Github - one of the most popular across India (15,000+ monthly views and 400,000+ views overall), Mentoring undergrads with their coding - mentored 7 directly, 2nd place in 2 hackathons and 3rd place in another

Work History:

Title: Market Analyst

Industry: Banking & Finance

Company: Global

Length of Employment: 1 yr, 8 mos

Title: Developer 4

Industry: Engineering

Company: Global

Length of Employment: 1 yr, 6 mos

Big Life Wins:

– Promoted 4 times in 18 months in my 1st firm (Youngest to be promoted to “Developer level – 4” across the organization globally). – Rank 6th in year-to-date profits among 100+ people at my current firm.

Post MBA Goal:

Investment Banking -> Hedge fund

Odds:

Join in! Click here to assess the odds of Mr. Risk-Taker

The Experts Rate The Odds At: 35%

See what the industry experts have to say:

John A. Byrne, P&Q Founder & Editor-In-Chief | Odds Assessment: 35%

It had to take a lot of confidence if not courage to leave your job as a developer and leap into a finance role, especially after racking up four promotions in 18 months. I am sure you know that transition helps to take you out of the dreaded overrepresented pool of male, Indian engineers and makes you a more desirable candidate to a prestigious MBA program. And you have done well in your new role, having ranked 6th among more than 100 colleagues in generating profit for your global financial company. You have a solid IIT education and strong stats including that 740 GMAT which is now 18 points over the latest class average at Wharton which, of course, is an excellent place to …

It had to take a lot of confidence if not courage to leave your job as a developer and leap into a finance role, especially after racking up four promotions in 18 months. I am sure you know that transition helps to take you out of the dreaded overrepresented pool of male, Indian engineers and makes you a more desirable candidate to a prestigious MBA program. And you have done well in your new role, having ranked 6th among more than 100 colleagues in generating profit for your global financial company. You have a solid IIT education and strong stats including that 740 GMAT which is now 18 points over the latest class average at Wharton which, of course, is an excellent place to jumpstart a new career in i-banking. In this spare profile, it’s hard to know how distinctive your life story is, though the fact you took a 40% pay cut to go into finance is clearly a turning point for you. I’d like to know a lot more about the personal motivations that drove that decision. If there’s a real story to it–other than you want to make more money over the course of your career–that could seal the deal at Wharton.

4 years ago Read the full review